Fuel-oil burner



Aug. 4, 1 936. F. c. DOLFI FUEL OIL BURNER Filed July 2, 1934 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 4, 1936 ST TBS.

zrnsss FUEL-OIL BURNER 1? Felice o. Dolfi, Redford, Mich.

Application July 2, 1934,8erial No. 733,418

3 Claims.

steam and mixedwith theairnecessary for complete-combustion in the combustion-chamber of.=

a vfurnace.

generating steam forthe-purpose of atomizing theroil-"to be burned and for spraying it in a fine,

"atomized condition intoa combustion chamber of .-a furnace-where it mixes with the correct amount of airv necessary for complete and therefore. smokeless,=combustion, the steam generating means beings-soarranged that the amount of 15 steam generated, and therefore the velocity of the steam at the nozzle,- isdirectlycproportional to theamou-ntofoil burned .at the nozzle. That is to.say,-the amount of oil supplied to the nozzle regulates the degree of :heat resulting from com- -.,bustion thereof, and the amount of steam gen-.

erated directly proportional to the degree ofheat-attained atthe nozzle through combustion ofmthe oil, and-therefore any fluctuation-in the degree of heat-because of adjustments of the fuel ;,,supp1y. to suit-varying temperature conditions automatically results in a corresponding fluctuation: in the rate of flow of the steam -atthe nozzle.

The burner so constructed is particularly adapted for domesticwuseinasmuch as it automatically controls the steam and by so doing eliminates the necessity of adjusting the conventional complicated steam jets, in devices where steam is used for atomization of fuel-oil, to provide the correct proportions between the steam and oil to permit efilcient combustion, the necessity for very careful adjustment being more important where the steam is not super-heated to remove the moisture therefrom, due to the fact that the use of too much wet steam or low temperature steam has a chilling effect and tends to retard combustion.

With the above and other ends in view the invention is more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical cross section of the present burner, and

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1. r

Reference is had to these figures by use of like characters of reference which are employed to designate corresponding parts, the numeral l designating the side wall of a furnace having a combustion chamber 2. Furnaces are well known in the art and their design is governed by the nature and. size of the place to be heated and whether or notit is to be-used with a hot air or a steam heats" ing system. Such considerations have no bearing on the structure constituting the invention" and therefore no'iurnace structure has been shown in the drawing because the invention is 5* applicable to various types'of furnaces.

Extending through the side wall i of the furnace is a tubular element 3 having a bulbous enlargement -l depending from the inner end there-- of; the lower end of the enlargement 6 being 10* closed with the exception ofa relatively small opening 5 in its lowermost extremity. The outer end of the tubular element 3 is joined to a pipe-- line 6 which in turn is connected, by a union '1, to a nipple 8 opening into a tank or reservoir 9. The reservoir 9 has an outwardly directed annular flange it receiving a similar flange M on a cover 52, suitable securing means (not shown) of any well known type being employed to secure'the two flanges together.

The cover 52 is provided with a nipple l3 connecting a steam'pipe line Ml to the reservoir, the other end of the pipe line M being connected to a tube it which enters the tubular element 3 at the point designated 26, the tube 83 preferably being 255.3. welded to the tubular element at this point.

An oil supply line is designated El! and it is to be understood that the end of this line, which is broken away, will be connected to a suitable source of fuel-oil supply, it also being understood that the oil supplied thereto is under sufiicient pressure to cause it to flow. This may be accomplished in a manner well known to those versed in the present art by connecting the line H to a reservoir from which the oil flows by force of gravity. Mounted in the pipe line H is a manually operable valve M3 for regulating the rate of flow of oil through the line H. The pipe line H is connected to a tube 69 which enters the tubular element 3 at a point designated 29, the tube 99 and the tubular element 3 preferably being welded together at this point.

As is clearly illustrated in Fig. 1 the two tubes l5 and i9 extend through the tubular element 3 and are bent downwardly into the bulbous enlargement 4. The ends 2i and 22 of the tubes l5 and i9 respectively are united by welding to form a common chamber 23, hereinafter termed the mixing chamber. The outlet end of the mixing chamber 23 is welded as at 2 in the opening 5 of the enlargement Entering the reservoir 9 is a pipe line 25 which, when in use, is connected to a water supply main. The pipe line 25 is connected to a valve body 26 containing a valve mechanism which is operable through reciprocation of a stem 21. A float 28 is connected by a rod 29 to a pivoted lever 30 which is connected by a link 3| to a pivoted lever 32, the latter being operatively connected to the valve stem 21. This structure comprises a well known float valve and inasmuch as such valves are well known in the art the details thereof have not been shown.

Beneath the opening 5 is provided a plate 33 and in operating the present burner the valve I8 is opened to permit oil to pass through the line H and tube l9 and to drip from the opening 5. The oil falls on the plate 33 and is ignited in any suitable manner and the heat resulting from combustion of the oil heats the enlargement 4 which will, at this time, be full of water due to the fact that water entering the reservoir 9 through the line 25 flows down the pipe 6 and into the tubular element 3. As the water becomes sufiiciently heated to generate steam the latter circulates upwardly through the pipe 6 and into the upper part of the reservoir. A pop valve 34 is provided in the cover I2 as well as a steam gauge 35. The steam flows from the reservoir 9 through the nipple l3 and line 14 to the tube l5 and the steam mixes with and atomizes the oil from the tube [9 in the mixing chamber 23 and causes the same to be sprayed through the opening 5. When the spray mixes with air in the combustion chamher 2 it becomes a combustible mixture and this mixture is ignited by the flame of the oil burning on the plate 33. The flame caused by the burning spray bathes the sides of the bulbous enlargement 4 and provides the necessary heat for continuous generation of steam.

The arrangement shown in the drawing is more or less diagrammatic and the pipes 6 and I4 may, in practice, be shortened considerably in order to locate the reservoir 9 in close proximity to the furnace wall 2 to avoid conveying the steam and hot water a greater distance than is absolutely necessary and thus cut down on heat losses. It is also obvious that the pipes 6 and M as well as the reservoir 9 may be insulated to prevent loss of heat.

Although a specific embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and described it will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of'the invention, and such changes are contemplated.

What I claim is:-

1. In a fuel-oil burner, a tubular element having a bulbous enlargement on one end thereof providing a chamber for the reception of Water for the purpose of generating steam, an oil pipe line extending through said tubular element and into said enlargement, a steam pipe line having a substantial portion extending through said tubular element and into said enlargement, said lines being united within said enlargement and having a common outlet opening through the wall of said enlargement, a reservoir connected to the other end of said tubular element and extending thereabove, means connecting said reservoir with said steam pipe line, and means for maintaining a constant water level in said reservoir.

2. In combination, a fuel oil burner comprising a housing adapted to receive water for the purpose of generating steam, a reservoir, means connecting said housing and reservoir for conveying steam from said housing to said reservoir, and water from the reservoir to the housing, a pair of pipe lines extending into said housing, a nozzle extending through the wall of said housing and connected to said pipe lines, means connecting one of said pipe lines to said reservoir to receive steam therefrom, and the other of said lines being connected to a fuel oil supply.

3. In combination, a housing adapted to re ceive water for the purpose of generating steam, a reservoir having means for maintaining a 'constant water level therein, a common water and steam connection between said housing and said reservoir for conveying water from said reservoir to said housing and steam from said housing to said reservoir, a pair of pipe lines extending into said housing, said pipe lines being united within said housing and having a common discharge noz- 40 zle extending through the wall of said housing, means connecting one of said pipe lines to said reservoir to receive steam therefrom, said pipe line which is connected to said reservoir to convey steam being extended through a substantial portion of the connection for conveying Water to said. housing, and means connecting the other pipe line toa fuel oil supply.

FELICE C. DOLFI. 

